Homeowners planning to remodel face new water-conservation rules

After the first of the year, homeowners across the state planning to remodel will have to comply with a new year's resolution of sorts: Installing water-conserving plumbing fixtures.

The state law applies to all single-family residences built before Jan. 1, 1994 and requires that water conserving plumbing fixtures be installed throughout the home as a condition of building permits applied for after Jan. 1, 2014.

"I think a lot of people may feel that it's time to do it because they can see their water bills go up and see losing a lot of water with inefficient water fixtures," said Woodland's Chief Building Official Paul Siegel. "All it takes is one drought and you're rationing people."

Specifically, the law states that all residential buildings undergoing alterations, additions, or improvements must replace non-compliant plumbing fixtures with water-conserving fixtures (Think: Low-flow toilet).

The law does not apply to maintenance, however, such as water heater replacement, HVAC replacement, re-roofing, sewer replacement or window replacement.

A resale inspection would not trigger compliance either, unless a permit is required as a result of the resale inspection.

"Imagine replacing a water heater and spending five times more than you needed to," Siegel said. "That would have been brutal and people wouldn't have done it.

"This (law) will trigger during a major remodel of a home. A lot of people do that anyway. A lot of home improvements are kitchen and bathroom remodels, so they're already in there doing that. So it's not going to fundamentally change a lot of people's plans."

The law isn't new. Senate Bill 407 actually came into effect in 2009, and stipulates that low-flow fixtures be implemented with home improvements starting in 2014, in all homes by 2017 and in apartment and commercial buildings by 2019.

When passed four years ago, the law went to the California Civil Code, rather than the health and community development department, which covers building codes. For this reason, some people are only learning of the law now.

"It was sort of a surprise for people," said Siegel. "This was a Civil Code and so health and community development didn't have a chance to weigh in on it before it was passed."

Gregory Mahoney, chief building official for the city of Davis, said in an email that "building officials are not supportive of this type of legislation that encourages permit avoidance."

"This new code did not go through the typical code development process, this was legislated by State lawmakers," he added. "We had no opportunity for input as we do in the normal code development process."

Rather, the legislation was supported by water agencies and Democrats. It is billed as an attempt to help California meet its goal to reduce water usage by 20 percent by 2020, a goal set by then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

According to the law, all shower heads must flow no more than 2.5 gallons of water per minute, and interior faucets must emit no more than 2.2 gallons of water per minute.

All toilets must use no more than 1.6 gallons of water per flush, while urinals must use no more than 1 gallon of water per flush.

More than half of Woodland's home stock will be affected by the law, or those homes built prior to 1994, Siegel estimated.

Woodland's Building Department will enforce the installation of low-flow fixtures at the final building permit inspection.

Siegel said this is not unlike regulations for smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors in homes that have been in place for three years. (All bedrooms - and hallways leading to bedrooms - must have a smoke alarm, and each home must have one carbon monoxide detector.)

"I just don't think people should be too frightened of it," Siegel said. "I think it's just part of the process."